Permit me to venture this thought: Without awareness of what’s going on in the lives of people outside your every Sunday come to church folks, your congregation will slowly decline.
Close to home research from George Barna: “Only 6% of Christians have a biblical worldview.” That is being passed onto children. “Five beliefs central to the Christian faith are being widely rejected by children in the 8-to-12 age range.” 1. “The Bible: “America’s children are receiving an inadequate introduction to the Bible.” 2. Absolute Truth: “While a robust 97% of 8-to-12-year-olds believe that there is an identifiable difference between right and wrong, a paltry one out of five (21%) believes that absolute moral truth exists.” 3: Means to Salvation. “One out of every three preteens (36%) believes that the means to eternal salvation is by confessing their sins and asking Jesus Christ to save them from the consequences of their sin. That is the same proportion as found among adults (35%). 4. Life Purpose: “Only one-quarter of preteens (27%) identified knowing, loving, and serving God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength as their chief purpose in life.” 5. Success: “Only one out of six (17%) consider the most accurate definition of life success to be consistent obedience to God.”
Barna: “Children are intellectual and spiritual sponges in their preteen years. They are desperately trying to make sense of the world, their identity, their purpose, and how to live a meaningful and satisfying life. Parents, in particular, have a duty to focus on and invest in the development of their child’s worldview, which is simply their decision-making filter for life. If parents do not fill that vacuum, other sources—such as the media, the schools, and even the child’s peers—will influence that worldview construction.” (Culture Research Center, Arizona Christian University)
I’ll bet you the family farm that I can find young parents in our congregation who don’t have a Christian worldview. Sense of urgency, anyone?